NBC is planning to roar back after its hit series "Friends" is off the air next season. "Extra" has learned the Peacock has put the Siegfried & Roy-based animated series "Father of the Pride" at the front of the pack to fill the timeslot left vacant by TV's most beloved "Friends."
Sources close to the situation have revealed exclusively to "Extra" the inventive animated series - poised to become primetime's first computer generated imaging (CGI) series - is the network's top contender for their Thursday night line-up. Spearheaded and executive produced by Dreamworks' Jeffrey Katzenberg, "Father of the Pride" is about a family of white lions who work as performers in the Las Vegas act of illusionists Siegfried & Roy.
Katzenberg, the driving force behind the lucrative "Shrek" franchise, once told "Extra" he's always on the lookout for film and TV subjects. "Good ideas can come from anyplace. It's part of it, to keep your eyes and ears open and not be afraid of having a good idea come to you from any place."
An NBC spokesperson told "Extra" the network brass are "thrilled with 'Father of the Pride' but no formal decisions have been made for the fall schedule."
"Father of the Pride" was said to be in question after Roy Horn was mauled on-stage by one of his performing tigers this past October. Katzenberg visited the critically injured showman at his hospital bedside, sources told "Extra." Now, as Horn is making steps towards recovery, the series is moving forward. John Goodman, Cheryl Hines and Carl Reiner have already been lined-up to lend their voices to the project.
Posted by Ron at February 13, 2004 01:52 PM